


I Still Like Him

by BadAtLife



Series: Tsukkiyama week 2020 [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Fluff, Future, M/M, Tsukishima Kei is Bad at Feelings, Tsukkiyama week 2020 day 2 - roommates, Yama is a dense little jelly bean, college times, i rewrote this like three times so its kind of bad but i mean, idk tags man im sorry yall, soft, the team shows up here and there, this is kinda dumb sorry, tsukki has a mug, wow a one shot in a ship week i never thought id do it lol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-25
Updated: 2020-08-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:20:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26100280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BadAtLife/pseuds/BadAtLife
Summary: Tsukishima has a mug that everyone from the former Karasuno Volleyball Team knows not to touch.At all. So when Tadashi gets his hands on it without consequence...There's something going on here and Tadashi wants to know what it is.
Relationships: Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi, tsukkiyama
Series: Tsukkiyama week 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1898053
Comments: 7
Kudos: 134





	I Still Like Him

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! Me again with more Haikyuu!!  
> Its for Tsukkiyama week on twitter haha! Day two was roomates/neighbors/domestic.  
> I went with roommates.  
> This is really choppy and, and its bad, i kinda dont like it, but I struggled at the end so forgive me haha.  
> I hope yall at least like some of it :')
> 
> Anyway, enjoy my jelly beans and their awkwardness.  
> (writing is so hard what...)

The year Karasuno clawed its way back into recognition birthed not only a team capable of the unimaginable, but also a close, unwavering connection between the team at the time. Even years later after the former first years had graduated and moved on the original team still kept in touch. 

It was no surprise Kageyama and Hinata went forward the way they did, and no one was even remotely shocked when Tsukishima and Yamaguchi ended up at the same university. The thing that had initially come as a surprise though was Tadashi sending out a mass text inviting the original team to come help the two of them warm the apartment they’d gotten together. They were all pretty sure that Tsukishima had either not been informed of the whole thing, or he had been bribed some way because none of them could see him willingly letting them all invade his space like that.  
Still, as requested by Tadashi, the original members had turned up one after another and indeed invaded Kei’s space. Most of them, _most_ , had the decency to stay away from Kei’s room, but there were a few who pushed the buttons. Tanaka and Nishinoya; of course. It had been fun none the less as they all talked and reminisced; regaling stories from their own lives; adventures theyd had after leaving high school. 

In fact, over time, it became a regular occurrence. 

In and out old friends came and went all different times of the year. Sometimes one at a time; sometimes a one big group. Tadashi was always thrilled when someone came by, dropped in, or asked if they had time to chat. Kei was Kei about it all, but Tadashi had warmly noted that his ever sarcastic roommate had slowly begun inching farther and farther away from his room each time someone came to visit. Eventually he was even willingly standing in the small kitchen just on the other side of the counter while others were visiting.  
It had turned into a strange sense of warmth, and where some couldn’t be as frequent as others those that were began to come and go with less and less warning. Eventually it was as if they partially lived there with the two. 

There was one rule, however; that extended to anyone and everyone. 

_Don’t_ touch Tsukishima’s coffee mug. 

There was a story behind it. There had to be. Why else would someone like Kei be so possessive over something so trivial like a mug? It wasn’t even anything spectacular or eye catching; it was a simple black mug with a white stencil of a dinosaur footprint on it. Nothing more; nothing less. Every time they saw him the blonde was either cleaning it, or drinking from it. He carried it around the apartment; out on the patio; Tadashi had even said sometimes it went to classes with him. Everyone was curious, but no one could get an answer. Touching it, even reaching for it, was met with consequence dealt out by a furious Kei who apparently found no course of action overboard. One just didn’t touch Tsukishima’s mug. Not even Suga or Daichi could get away with it. 

“I don’t even know why he’s so attached to it.” Tadashi had admitted one day after Tanaka, Nishinoya, and even Daichi had all asked almost simultaneously after they’d watched Kei come home from class dedicating an entire hand to holding just the empty mug while his other struggled awkwardly to hold a number of large books. 

For Tadashi not to know something about Kei was; unusual. It made the mug that much more interesting, and that much more of a target. Everything else in the apartment was nearly free game; Nishinoya had even managed to break into the enigma that was Kei’s room eventually. The mug though, was like some kind of forbidden treasure.

Tanaka had tried to get his hands on it one time when he and Suga had dropped in for a visit. It had been one of the rare times the mug was sitting by itself on the counter with no Kei in sight. As Suga told Tadashi about a rather interesting run in he’d had with a former Seijho setter Tanaka had wondered away straight for the mug. 

He’d circled around the counter, eyes locked on the drinkware, and squinted at it. He stared at it as if it would get up and walk away the moment he blinked. There was nothing in it; noting around it. As far as he could tell there wasn’t any special message written on it, or in it that might indicate maybe it was from a lover or something. Just a shiny, black, dinosaur mug. 

Suga had caught the younger man reaching for it and sternly warned him against it. 

“If Tsukishima doesn’t want us touching it we shouldn’t. Tanaka.” Ever the mother even all these years later, but it would be a lie if he didn’t say he was curious about the strange cup as well. 

Tadashi added on a number of his own warnings, but Kei had been locked in his room this time around dealing with a load of school work that Tanaka declared it was now or never. There _had_ to be something on the mug that would tell them why the aloof Tsukishima was so obsessed with a _mug_.

He’d reached, he’d felt the cool ceramic against his skin, and then there was something digging into the flesh of his hand so hard he thought it was getting impaled. All three bodies startled when it came into light that Kei had silently wondered out of his room unbeknownst to them. Now the blonde towered over a hunched Tanaka who hand one hand hovering just centimeters from Kei’s mug while the other was pinned underneath a rather sharp looking pencil. 

Gold eyes stared down darkly at grey as the pencil moved ever slightly downward. Tanaka’s hand flew away from the mug as he raised it in surrender. 

“OWOWOWOWOWOW OKAY OKAY!” Tanaka almost howled, “SORRY SORRY I WONT TRY TO TOUCH IT AGAIN!”

Kei’s eyes narrowed behind his glasses, and for a split second Tanaka was afraid the younger man might just push the pencil all the way down. To his, and the other two’s, relief the pencil was removed from his hand. Snatching the damaged appendage back from the counter Tanaka scurried out of the kitchen back to Suga who shook his head slowly. 

The mug was snatched from the counter along with a bottle of water from the fridge before Kei disappeared back into the dark void that was his room. As the door shutting sounded through the apartment Tadashi sighed. 

Suga on the other hand chuckled as Tanaka nursed the hand that had almost become a counter decoration. 

“I wonder if we’ll ever figure it out.” Suga sighed with a small smile, “I honestly would like to know what makes Tsukishima so attached to it.”

Tadashi shook his head slowly, “As long as I can remember he’s been using that mug, but I cant remember when or where he got it.”

“Well, we each have our secrets I guess.” Suga stood up slowly, “But I think it’s time we head out.”

“I’ll walk you guys to your car.” Tadashi smiled.

…

It was about eleven at night when Tadashi leaned back in his desk chair and stretched. He’d been working on papers for the last three hours and definitely either needed a long break or to call it a night. He sat there for no more than a few seconds before his brain ultimately told him it was time to clock out for the night; he had a feeling there’d be no focus left if he tried to go back. 

After putting up his work Tadashi trotted out of his room, but caught sight of Kei’s door open a bit. He hadnt seen Kei come out after he’d disappeared earlier when he’d finished partially impaling Tanaka’s hand.

Pushing the door open just enough to peek his head in Tadashi found the room dark besides the desk lamp. Kei was lying across the desk on his arms with his laptop and books strew about; he must have knocked out in the middle of researching. Chuckling quietly to himself Tadashi walked into the dark room straight to Kei. The blonde’s eyes were closed beneath glasses that were only partially still where they should have been. He momentarily debated trying to move them off Kei’s face before he accidently bent them, but they looked pretty jammed between the side of his head and his arm. That and Tadashi didn’t want Kei to wake up and not know where his glasses were. 

The desk was a mess, but brown eyes fell on the one clean corner of it. Papers and open text books served as awkward pillows, armrests, and a partially built wall all across the top of the desk, but in the top right corner there wasn’t a single thing besides Kei’s mug. There was coffee in it still which looked like Kei had probably gotten two sips out of it before it had no doubt gone cold. Still, there sat the mug that was as much a part of Tadashi’s life as Kei was. 

It was an odd thing, but honestly he’d never really thought about it until the others had all started talking about it. The mug had just… always been there. 

Tentatively Tadashi reached down towards it, but his fingers stopped just before they could graze the smooth surface. Kei hadnt moved at all, but it felt like he was suddenly reaching for something taboo. Tanaka’s predicament earlier that day flashed through his mind briefly, but Tadashi shook his head sure his own hand was safe at the moment. 

Slender fingers wrapped around the smooth surface as he lifted the mug off the desk carefully. As he’d thought it was cold, but he held it delicately as if it would shatter at any moment. Now that he thought about it Tadashi was pretty sure he’d never actually held the mug either until this point. No matter how much time he’d spent at the Tsukishima household, or had breakfast over at Kei’s house, or when they move Tadashi couldn’t recall every having laid a finger on the mug. As he looked it over he found he was a bit disappointed to see nothing remotely defining about the mug. He made a face at himself. 

What had he been expecting? A love note scrawled into the ceramic at the bottom of it? A secret code somewhere for some big secret Tsukki had been hiding all these years? Tadashi soundlessly chuckled to himself; the others’ insane theories of the mug must have finally gotten to him.

Brown eyes slid down to Kei with a soft warmth in them, but froze the moment they met gold. From below him golden, half-lidded irises looked up at him as Tadashi stood there with Kei’s mug in his hands. 

“T-Tsukki!” Tadashi blinked as he tried to figure out whether to put the mug down and risk getting his limb impaled, or keep holding it so Kei didn’t risk dropping his precious mug in order to spear his hands. 

Gold stared up at him before they slid shut as Kei sat up slowly. His back arched into a long stretch before he cracked his neck, and soon enough those eyes were back on Tadashi. 

“Yamaguchi.” There was no malice in his voice, or his face for that matter. 

“I-I hadnt seen you all day practically.” Tadashi was floundering in his own panic to try and ignore the current situation, “Wanted to make sure you were still alive in here.” 

Kei’s jaw came to rest in his upturned hand as he leaned forward onto the desk again. There was an odd look behind half-lidded eyes Tadashi wasn’t sure he could place at the moment, so he chalked it up to Kei still waring off the previous cloud of sleep. 

“Mhmm…” Was the only acknowledgment he got for that, “Did you finish your essay? You said you were having problems with it yesterday. Isnt it due tomorrow?”

This time it was Tadashi’s turn to squint down at the blonde. Was Kei playing some kind of game here? 

Slowly, Tadashi nodded, “Yeah. I was doing some work for different classes. I finished the essay a few hours ago, but I called it in. I couldn’t focus anymore.”

“There’s coffee if you want. Though it’s probably cold by now.” Kei said simply, but the mention of the drink caused Tadashi to stiffen, “It’s about as old as the stuff in the mug.”

He waited, but there was no sharp glare. No pencil in his arm, or even a _”Yamaguchi why do you have your hands around my mug”_. Now Tadashi was just confused. Eyes narrowing a bit more Tadashi slowly leaned down and gingerly placed the mug back on the desk where it had been. Kei didn’t make a move, or even watch the movement. All he did was yawn. 

“I’m… probably going to go to sleep soon…” Tadashi said slowly as he straightened back up, “Are, you, still working?”

Golden orbs shifted to the corners of his eyes as Kei glanced over at the dark laptop and mess of books. He sighed before pushing the chair back and getting up. Tadashi watched as he stretched; long limbs extending over an area few others Tadashi knew could cover. 

“Im done. I don’t think I can even if I wanted to.” Kei sighed as he craned his neck from under his hand, “Starving, though.”

Tadashi wanted to vacate the room as fast as possible so he perked up some, “What about that little 24 hour diner down the road?”

One of Kei’s eyebrows raised over the top of his glasses for a moment, but he sighed softly, “Alright.”

Tadashi beamed as he ushered Kei out of his room rather quickly. Still curious about the previous situation, but no driven by food he figured he’d come back to that later. 

…

He had. A few times actually. 

For a week Tadashi carefully avoided anything and everything to do with Kei’s mug. After, however; he decided to test something. First it was dish washing. Only at rare moments did Kei ever not wash the mug himself, but as Tadashi was doing the dishes he spied it sitting empty next to Kei on the counter while the blonde was reading through an article on his phone. Feeling a little bold that day Tadashi had slowly reached for the mug and was oddly surprised when Kei didn’t even so much as glance at him as he pulled it away. 

Tadashi chalked that up as Kei probably wanting to use it for something else and figured him cleaning it was convenient.

After that it was during their weekly apartment cleaning. The mug had a tendency to mark Kei’s current, and most frequented, locations around the apartment. It wasn’t surprising when Tadashi was cleaning the living room and found it sitting on the TV stand above their movies. Kei was tackling the kitchen and for a moment Tadashi debated leaving it there, but he didn’t want to accidently knock it over. So he plucked it off the stand and walked his way over to place it in the sink. Kei moved out of his way, but once again there wasn’t a glare, or an attempt to take it back. 

He decided to say Kei was too busy cleaning to care at the moment. Probably.

The last thing though was a complete accident. Tadashi hadnt _meant_ to take Kei’s mug, but it was 7 in the morning and he hadnt slept much the night before. He was so tired, but there was a class soon and he just really needed to grab some coffee and go. His professor and fellow students were rather shocked that morning when quiet Tadashi hit full alertness and then shrieked in the middle of the lecture when he saw what was sitting on his desk. When he’d gotten back to find Kei sitting in the living room using a _different_ mug and not a single silent promise of death…

Tadashi didn’t have an excuse for that one.

By that point Tadashi was wondering if the weird stories around Kei’s mugs had literally just been rumors the others had made up and he ended up believing things that didn’t exist. So in light of Tadashi’s odd findings he’d concluded the mug was just a normal mug Kei happened to just use a lot and the others had polluted his brain with the help of too many coincidences.  
After that the mug faded into normalcy for Tadashi. It was just that again; a mug. Kei still used it 99.9% of the time, but occasionally Tadashi would end up claiming it for a day and nothing was ever said.

It would become apparent, however; Tadashi had missed a rather large indicator due to his conclusion.

…

In the later winter of the year Tadashi had begged and begged Kei to let him have a holiday party with their friends since the universe happened to align for once and everyone would be in the area just before official holidays hit. It had taken a lot of asking, whining, and the help of a very specific cake or two before Kei finally gave up and agreed to it. It hadnt taken long for the others to respond; all seemingly as eager as Tadashi to have everyone together again. 

All were accounted for by mid-afternoon on a Saturday and Tadashi greatly welcomed the warm and lively atmosphere that had encompassed his and Kei’s home for the day. 

“Yamaguchi!!” Hinata was beaming as he bound across the living room ever full of energy.

Promptly assaulted by the seemingly endless energy Hinata had still ended up retaining Tadashi laughed, “It’s good to see you again.”

Kageyama was currently gawking at something Nishinoya had said across the room as Hinata started to spin into a rather embarrassing tale of what the setter had done a few months ago, and Tadashi wondered if that was why the smaller man had come over so quickly. The two were sent into a fit of laughter by the end of it though, just as Kei joined them. 

“Still as scary looking as ever… Saltyshima.” Hinata beamed after Kei’s eyes narrowed behind his glasses. 

It had surprised everybody when Kei had actually stayed out among them instead of retreating back into his room like he usually did after the initial greetings and brief conversations. Tadashi was glad though. He was, however; thirsty. Abandoning Kei to the mercy of trying to decipher Hinata’s speech by himself Tadashi wondered into the kitchen where Daichi was digging through snacks they’d set out.  
“It’s nice.” The former captain said as he leaned against the counter and stared at the others, “Seeing everyone back together again like this. It’s almost like nothing changed.”

Tadashi smiled warmly as he reached for a cup and started emptying a can of soda into it, “Sometimes… I do kind of miss everybody getting together as often as we did…”

Nodding slowly Daichi’s eyes turned back to Tadashi before he inhaled so sharply Tadashi was worried he might swallow the toothpick he’d had in his mouth. Brown eyes blinked at the former captain with question. 

“Yamaguchi.” Daichi’s finger pointed down to his hands.

Looking down Tadashi stared blankly at the dark liquid that floated innocently in the cup. What was it? Bringing it up Tadashi looked at the whole thing a little closer before turning back to Daichi.

“What’s wrong?”

Nishinoya had just come strutting into the kitchen behind Diachi when his own wide eyes joined Daichi’s disbelieving stare. He bounced back a whole four or five steps as if afraid he’d catch fire.

“Yamaguchi are you mad?!” The shorter shrieked at him, “Tanaka told me last time he almost lost a hand for that!”

Now all eyes were turned to the former pinch-server who looked around confused and wide eyed at everyone. All faces in the room looked torn between terror and concern all at the same time, and in one strange, simultaneous motion every pair of eyes slid over to Kei who had back himself into the kitchen near Tadashi in order to try and escape Hinata. 

Gold eyes stared at them all flatly. It was the same face he pulled quite often during practice when he was convinced once again they were all idiots. 

“What are you all staring at.” Kei stated more than asked. 

Eyes flicked back between Kei and Tadashi before brown eyes winded just a bit. His eyebrows rose in realization. He’d completely forgotten…

In his hands sat Kei’s mug. The object of taboo to all but Tadashi. Had it really been that easy to forget? 

Hinata, who had strategically placed himself on the other side of the counter, peered over it and squinted at Kei who still had yet to turn on Tadashi and let him have the consequences of putting his hands on the mug, “You’re not… trying to break his wrist.”

“Or stab him.” Tanaka hissed from around Asahi.

“Or throwing something at him.” Kageyama quipped from the living room.

“Or threatening his lively hood.” Nishinoya added from next to Hinata. 

Kei’s eyebrow twitched, but Tadashi was close enough he noticed the tips of his ears were turning slightly red, “Tch; you’re all morons.”

Tadashi watched as Kei seemed to have taken that as a sign to leave and walked himself out of the room. The moment the door down the hall shut everyone turned on Tadashi. A thousand sentences were flung in his direction all at once as he tried to make sense of everyone at the same time. 

It would take a while before Tadashi stopped getting bombarded by wide-eyed, disbelieving former teammates.

…

By the time Tadashi had answered questions to the best of his knowledge and everyone finally accepted that he really didn’t know why _he_ was allowed to touch, let alone use, Kei’s mug it was rather late. Despite the end events Kei did come back out of hiding to see everyone off, but he would only go as far as the apartment doorway. He stood in the threshold as Tadashi stood out on the patio and waved to everybody until they were once again the only two. 

Darting back inside after a particular chilly wind brushed by Tadashi sighed contently as he leaned against the front door. 

“That was nice.” He smiled softly, “I do miss everybody…”

Kei only grunted in response as he moved to the living room; the mug now in _his_ hands. Laughing softly to himself Tadashi followed suit after shutting off the lights around the apartment and then taking place by the taller on the couch. He had no idea what Kei was going to start watching, but he was content to just sit in the dark with his best friend. 

The mug sat on the small table in front of them as the light of the TV illuminated it. The ceramic shined as the liquid inside slowly came to a standstill. Tadashi stared at it for a while as curiosity started to creep into his mind; especially after being reminded of the odd taboo of the cup to the others. 

“Hey… Tsukki…” He started quietly after a bit of time passed. 

“Hmm?” 

“What is it with this mug?” 

There was silence next to him before he felt Kei lean back into the couch a bit more, “What do you mean?”

Tadashi glared at the blonde next to him, “You know what I mean!”

He saw Kei’s lip twitch slightly at the corner in the TV light, “You don’t remember where I got it do you…”

Looking from Kei to the mug Tadashi sat there for a moment and really tried to pick his brain apart for the day he first saw Kei with the mug. Nothing came up though, so he shook his head.

Gold slid to Tadashi slowly, his gaze suddenly half-lidded as he eyed the shorter man next to him before going back to the mug, “There was this dumb, awkward kid a long time ago. I made a mistake and he found out I liked dinosaurs, and a month later he was shoving that mug in my face. I found out later he’d bugged his parents every day, all month long, for a dollar because he saw somewhere and thought it would be the best thing ever. It was the first time somebody outside my family gave me something…”

Tadashi watched with wide brown eyes as he spoke, and a grin slid across his face. He’d never seen Kei look so, warm, before. Golden eyes slid off the mug, but when Kei caught Tadashi’s eyes he jumped a bit. He hadnt expected the other to look so invested. 

“Wow Tsukki…” Tadashi said leaning back again. It was his turn to shift his gaze to the mug in front of them, “You’ve had it all this time too? You must have really liked him….”

Next to him Kei’s lips pulled back into a thin line as he stared blankly at Tadashi. His eyebrow twitched a little as his lip curled up against his will. 

The sudden sound of laughter caught Tadashi off guard. He couldn’t recall Kei every laughing the way he was now. It was real, and true, and seemed like there wasn’t a single thing being held back this time. Kei laughed for a decent amount of time much to Tadashi’s confusion until he took his glasses off and rubbed his eyes briefly. Kei was still chuckling here and there before he sighed and slouched back into the couch. His head came to rest on the edge of it as he turned it slightly to look at Tadashi.

“You’re still as dense as ever, Yamaguchi.”

Blinking in question Tadashi stared at Kei as the light from the TV bounced across them. Seeing Kei so unwound was rare in itself; let alone seeing him laugh for so long.

“What’s so funny?!” He finally asked, his face pouting a little.

Kei closed his eyes and shook his head slowly before turning away again, “Nothing. I guess you took one too many hits to the head in high school…”

“Tsukki!!” Tadashi whined; he felt like he’d nearly had the truth of the mug only for it to slip through his fingers. Kei not adding any more detail was just mean.

“Maybe I’ll tell you later.” The blonde sighed, dare Tadashi say contently, as one gold eye peeked open and glanced at brown, “But just so you know… I still really do like him…”


End file.
